It was a day mixed with grief and hope at Central Baptist Church in Americus, Georgia on Friday. Two days after the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world, State Senator Greg Kirk was laid to rest. Continue reading
by 
This one hurts. I know the truth. I know the hope. I know the assurance. I tell it to others all the time. But this one hurts. I am angry about this one.
Yesterday morning, Jody Slocum stepped into eternity. Just a few weeks ago he was teaching his Sunday School class at Pinecrest Baptist Church in Cordele, Georgia.
I met Jody on a Saturday evening in 2006 in Sylvester, Georgia at a campaign event for Sonny Perdue. My wife and I sat at the same table and had a nice conversation. Jody could talk to anyone about anything. It was his gift.
The next morning, I decided to visit Pinecrest Baptist Church. I remember getting out of the car and not knowing where to go for Sunday School.
A little boy was passing by and I asked him where adult classes met. He pointed over to a door and said that he thought there was an adult class in that room.
I eased the door open to see a class filled and the teacher announced that we met the night before. You know how it is when you see someone in a different place and do not connect the person and place immediately.
Jody immediately recognized me. It took a moment for the search engine in my brain to connect the Sunday School teacher with a political event the night before.
That began a deep friendship. We shared a common faith, a common political philosophy, and a common enjoyment of the lives of those who were involved in politics.
Jody was an avid reader of the Wall Street Journal and kept up with the latest reporting and editorials. He talked about the writers and subjects with such a grasp of understanding that it seemed as if he talked with them over breakfast every morning.
If I wanted solid analysis of a particular issue, I called Jody to see what he knew. He always knew the latest and did not hesitate to share his opinion.
When it came to church involvement, he was all about mission and commitment. He did not have time to complain or nitpick over non-important issues.
He had a compelling obligation to support the men and women called of God to serve, especially missionaries, pastors, and staff members. He believed that these individuals had been called by God and invested their lives.
He often spoke of them “leaving their nets” in a reference to the first disciples who walked away from a profession as fishermen to follow Christ.
We were having dinner with a friend shortly after a hurricane or flood that was in the news. Jody began to talk about the Southern Baptist disaster relief operation that had developed such a reputation, that they were the first to be called. He proudly described the logistics in detail.
Jody’s wife, Beth, served as a trustee of the Georgia Baptist Children’s Home and Family Ministries. He was there with her at every trustee meeting to learn the needs.
Jody was more than just active in church. He knew why he was active. He had a firm grasp on why he was there and why a relationship with Christ was the most important relationship that anyone could have. He had a firm grasp on matters of eternal significance.
The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, shared his daily struggle about life here in this fallen world and stepping into eternity. “But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.” (Philippians 1:23-24)
Jody was also torn between stepping into eternity with Christ and staying here to keep carrying out the mission. He was “hard pressed” in both directions. One truth he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt – he was fully prepared to be “absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.” (II Corinthians 5:8 NASB)
This one hurts. Not Jody! His death reminds me of the brevity of this life and the hope for eternity.
The Apostle Paul had a lot to say about this kind of thing. In the 15th chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians, he wrote of the return of Christ and the assurance of our resurrection as believers. Right now, Jody is in the presence of Christ and seeing everything with perfect clarity.
Paul closed that 15th chapter with an exhortation and hope. With those same words to the many friends and family who are feeling the same thing right now, I close this commentary:
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” (I Corinthians 15:58 NASB)
Obituary Maxwell-Purvis Funeral Home
by Crisp County recently joined the ranks of hundreds of other communities around the nation offering a course in religious instruction to students who are in public school. The Crisp County Center for Christian Learning, or C4 as it is commonly known, is a local organization of community leaders who desire to provide parents with an expanded educational option for their students in the public school.
Parents want the best for their children. They want them to have opportunities to learn and have a well rounded education. This is a universal desire that applies to demographic groups across the board.
In 1962 a New York state law included the text of a prayer for public schools. New York public schools were to begin each day with the prayer along with the Pledge of Allegiance. The United States Supreme Court, in Engel v. Vitale, ruled that the prayer was an unconstitutional violation of the 1st Amendment prohibiting government from establishing a religion.
For the vast majority, the public school system is the primary educational provider. Religion is one area where public schools are restricted.
That ruling led to more rulings which included prohibiting a one minute period of silent reflection, prayer at graduations, and prayer before events such as football games. School administrators often established even more restrictive policies in a precautionary mode to avoid litigation.
The 1962 decision addressed the first clause of the 1st Amendment that prohibited the government from establishing religion. It did not address the 2nd half of the clause, “or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
The Supreme Court ruled on the free exercise clause ten years earlier in the 1952 case, Zorach v. Clauson. In that case the state of New York offered a program of “Released Time Education.”
Released time allows parents to voluntarily enroll their children in a religious education program conducted off the school grounds. The public school does not pay for the facility, material, or faculty and the program is completely voluntary.
Justice William O. Douglas, in the majority opinion wrote, “We are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being. We guarantee the freedom to worship as one chooses.”
He went on to say that the Released Time program, “follows the best of our traditions. For it then respects the religious nature of our people and accommodates the public service to their spiritual needs. To hold that it may not would be to find in the Constitution a requirement that the government show a callous indifference to religious groups. That would be preferring those who believe in no religion over those who do believe.”
The case established three basic requirements for released time: (1) The classes had to be off the school grounds, (2) The classes had to be voluntary, and (3) no public funds could be used to support the classes.
There are no fees required to take the classes. This is a positive option. The families of Crisp County along with school administration welcomed the idea with open arms.
I first witnessed this concept in Wilcox County. Last October, I wrote a commentary entitled, “The Solution,” about one of their community events.
In Crisp County we began last January when a group of interested citizens formed the founding Board of nine members. I was asked to serve as Chairman of the Board.
The community response has been positive in every corner. Pinecrest Baptist Church offered the use of their facilities for classroom space and their vehicles for transportation. Volunteers signed up to help with scheduling volunteers to drive.
We recruited qualified teachers. Individuals and churches are donating financially to support this faith-based initiative.
The classes meet during the elective periods. We send a van to pick the children up at school after home room, transport them to the off-campus classroom, and return them to school for their next class.
Our teacher provides attendance and grades to the Middle School. The time counts toward attendance requirements as it is part of their learning experience.
Our inaugural class of 8th graders will complete the 9 week course on October 3. We already have 35 students who want to take the class in the next nine weeks.
We are asked if it will be available for high school. Our answer is that we intend to expand the program as long as the funds are available to support it.
Funding does not come from a government program. Funding comes from churches, individuals, businesses, and others who agree that this is an important investment for the community.
I see something else in this initiative in our community. It brings the community together for a positive and edifying purpose.
Over the next year, our nation is going to be bombarded with political ads and messages of division and discord. These go beyond differences in policy and political philosophy. Many of these messages will sow the seeds of class envy, victimization, fear, and prejudice.
C4 is one of many endeavors taking place across Crisp county to work together for a stronger, uplifting, vibrant, community. It is a worthy investment.
If you want to know how you can help, send me an e-mail: don@doncole.com or give me a call at 229-291-7114 and I’ll tell you more.
The Philosophy of Crisp County Center
for Christian Learning (C4)
The Crisp County Center for Christian Learning exists to provide Biblical based instruction in the areas of character, leadership, and personal discipline to the students of the Crisp County Public Schools.
We believe that students should be and can be an example to others in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity, and to that end, offer instruction in such Christian concepts as honoring parents, respecting authority, purity before marriage, developing trust in friendships, living a life of integrity, all while teaching leadership using biblical doctrine, examples and role models.
It is the desire of the Crisp County Center for Christian Learning that each Student be given the education in character studies, historical context, and moral reasoning using the Bible and Christian doctrine as the foundation to ensure that each student is instructed in a way that their uniqueness is embraced, and their success is promoted, with the understanding that they are valued as a Creation of God.
by Our nation mourns the innocent victims of the murders on Saturday in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio. A terrorist murder such as this happening once in a lifetime is too often. Now when news breaks of another murder, our first reaction is, “again?”
The news media carries interviews of various experts who share opinions on how to put a stop to this. Some call for gun control and banning of assault weapons. Others call for more treatment of mental health issues. Others call for strict controls on social media and video games that glorify violent behavior.
There are those who cast blame on President Trump. Still others will blame the hostility displayed in public discourse today.
All will be calling for some solution that requires action by the government. You can sum these up in two words, “fix it.”
These two words describe the early 20th century American-born philosophy of Pragmatism. This philosophical view of the world puts man as the center and ultimate in all things. Pragmatism as a world view is not the same has being a pragmatic problem solver.
Americans have been “can do” from our beginning. We had the audacity to declare independence from Great Britain, but in that action, our Founding Fathers acknowledged God. In the Declaration itself, they wrote that they were, “appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world.”
Americans tackled Westward expansion. They connected East to West with the railroad. The future path of the Panama Canal was first a railroad, built by Americans, to move people and goods more quickly to California for the gold rush. The Wright Brothers conquered flight. Edison invented the light bulb. Charles Lindbergh made the first solo flight across the Atlantic. Americans were the first and only ones to walk on the moon.
These bold achievements were built on the foundation of a nation that acknowledged a Supreme being. Not only did the founders make an appeal to the Supreme Judge, but they also acknowledged and declared their “firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence.”
Something began to change in America at the end of the 19th century. At first it was barely noticeable.
Institutions of higher education became enamored with European philosophers. The thought leadership in these institutions, with few exceptions, had one thing in common. They held that man created the idea of God in order to explain the world and nature. Man, through his great accomplishments and advances in science, would solve the problems of the world and usher in a bold and grand new age.
World War I threw a fly in the ointment for the grand hopes of a Utopian world but as that war came to end, it was tagged as the war to end all wars. That tagline was moot within two decades.
Political Science thinkers such as Woodrow Wilson promoted a new brand of government where trained and skilled professionals would carry out the wishes of the elected officials. John Dewey developed the philosophy of Pragmatism which basically declares “whatever works” as being ethical and proper.
Public administrators were presented as professionals who had the knowledge to solve public problems in a scientific manner. The belief was that the citizen elected to public office would make political decisions based on the options presented by the professionals in public administration. The secular/humanist philosophy in higher education would take decades to filter down into American society.
In the 1960’s America was racing to the moon in the technical scientific arena. In the social science arena, the Johnson administration declared War on Poverty. The technocrats in government, coupled with a strategic political move to capture blocks of votes based on race, ignored basic realities of fallen human nature.
The policies of the 60’s blamed poverty as the root of crime and all social evils. The solution was to “fix it” by giving money to single mothers based upon the number of children she had. Marriage meant less in monthly payment.
The policies punished marriage and promoted childbearing out of wedlock. Young girls in lower income populations became little more than baby machines with growing dependence on government welfare payments.
Courts began to rule against religious activities in the public square. It also became popular in the entertainment industry to mock Christians.
What does this overview of the changing world view in America have to do with the shootings in El Paso and Dayton? Consider this. Recent shooters have all been in their twenties.
As they came of age, prayer in public schools was unheard of. In some cases even Bibles were removed from school libraries. Saying “Merry Christmas” was socially frowned upon in the media. Christmas manger scenes in most communities were removed. Prayer before a high school football game was no longer allowed. Abortion was freely available. Condoms were distributed in schools. Families were disintegrating.
When a society adopts a world view that puts man at the center and attempts to relegate God to mere folk lore, there are consequences. The prophet Hosea delivered a piercing message to the people of Israel in his day. They turned from the law of God. Their culture and society was crumbling. Hosea summed it up “For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.” (Hosea 8:7)
If we are wise, we will connect the dots. We will return to that “firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence” not only in our individual lives but in the governing of our nation. Our secular/humanist culture sowed the wind and now we are reaping the whirlwind.
by On June 6, 2019 the entire world will remember the 75th anniversary of the largest military operation in history. It was an epic conflict of good vs evil.
Thousands of young Americans who just months before were securely living in homes on farms and in cities across our nation crowded into landing craft.
The vast armada chugged toward the beaches of Normandy like a cloud of gnats on a South Georgia farm. As these brave young men stormed the beaches, they were charging into the gates of hell itself.
While the invasion was underway, President Franklin Roosevelt, in a nationwide radio address, led the nation in prayer for this undertaking. Take 5 minutes to listen. Share this with your friends and especially young students who are learning about our nation’s history.
Text of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Address and Prayer on D-Day – June 6, 1944
My fellow Americans: Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far.
And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer:
Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.
Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.
They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.
They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest-until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men’s souls will be shaken with the violences of war.
For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and good will among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.
Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.
And for us at home — fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas — whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them–help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.
Many people have urged that I call the Nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.
Give us strength, too — strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces.
And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be.
And, O Lord, give us Faith. Give us Faith in Thee; Faith in our sons; Faith in each other; Faith in our united crusade. Let not the keenness of our spirit ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose.
With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogancies. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister Nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.
Thy will be done, Almighty God. Amen.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt – June 6, 1944
by Last Friday, the Democrat controlled US House of Representatives passed H.R. 5, the Equality Act. That sounds like a noble title. We are a nation of laws and they should be applied in an equal manner.
As with many laws passed in Congress, the name is deceptive. It purports to provide protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The truth is that it is an assault on religious freedom and it directly attacks the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
If you live in Southwest Georgia, you may wonder how your Congressman voted. Sanford Bishop not only voted for it, he was a proud co-sponsor.
The Equality Act amends the 1964 Civil Rights Act to elevate sexual orientation and gender identify to the same status as “race, color, religion, or national origin”. It would now read, “race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), or national origin.” There are other significant changes to the Civil Rights Act.
The Civil Rights Act has a lengthy list of establishments where discrimination is prohibited. The Equality Act adds:
It goes further to re-define the word establishment to include, “an individual whose operations affect commerce and who is a provider of a good, service, or program; and (2) shall not be construed to be limited to a physical facility or place.”
It expands the list of establishments and goods and services so that just about anything anywhere is caught in its net. A church or private school that has a gym or family life center would be included. Even broader is “public gathering or public display.”
Under the services it also expands the list by slipping in new ones. Among them are service centers, care centers, shelters, travel agency, and health care.
In Anchorage, Alaska in January 2018, Timothy “Samantha” Coyle, who identifies himself as a female, attempted to enter the Downtown Hope Center. It is a Christian shelter for homeless and battered women. They sleep on mats on the floor and take them up during the day to have room for other programs.
Coyle was drunk and injured from a fight. The Hope Center staff obtained transportation to the hospital for him. The next day he again showed up outside of the hours for overnight admission. Two days later he filed a complaint with the city’s Equal Rights Commission claiming that Hope Center, as a “public accommodation,” discriminated against him because of gender identity.
The Equality Act re-defines the term, “establishment” to include individuals. This is clearly targeting cases such as the cake baker, Jack Phillips, in Colorado. He designs custom cakes and declined to design a cake for a same-sex wedding. The state of Colorado charged him with discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The Supreme Court ruled in his favor.
The day after the Supreme Court ruling, a transgender lawyer came to Phillips requesting that he design a cake to celebrate a gender transition. When Phillips refused, the state of Colorado again charged him with discrimination.
This time it was on the basis of gender identity. Phillips responded with a lawsuit against the state for harassment. Eventually the case was dropped.
Section 1107 targets the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act by name. It says that act “shall not provide a claim concerning, or a defense to a claim.”
This law has nothing to do with equality. We can already see the consequences of this law based on what has happened with similar municipal ordinances and state laws, such as Colorado’s.
Americans do not care to know about a person’s sexual orientation. They definitely have no interest in making a biological determination of someone’s gender. Neither do they wish to allow someone decide that they will “identify” as the opposite sex and invade the privacy of others.
The bill now goes to the Senate. I trust that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will exile the bill to the island of misfit law where it belongs.
by House Bill 481, commonly referred to as the Heartbeat Bill, passed in the Georgia House and the Senate. Now it will go back to the House for approval with Senate Amendments.
With some specified exceptions, the bill outlaws an abortion when the doctor can detect the heartbeat of the unborn child. The votes in the House and Senate were both along party lines.
Republicans voted to protect the innocent. Democrats voted to allow the killing of the innocent.
I checked the votes of Democrat legislators from Southwest Georgia. What I saw was disturbing.
On the Senate side, Democrat Ed Harbison Senate District 15 voted No and Democrat Freddie Powell Sims Senate District 12 voted No.
On the House side, Democrat Winfred Dukes House District 154 Voted No. Democrat Camia Hopson House District 153 Voted No. Democrat Patty Bentley House District 139 had an excused absence from voting.
All of these Democrats are African-American. The African-American constituency, especially in the church-going rural South, has been unapologetically opposed to abortion.
I have worshiped with African-American congregations. We have worked together for our community. I have never heard a church member or pastor imply that abortion was an option.
They all recognize that an expecting mother is carrying one of their children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, or friends. They all know that God does not make mistakes and the pregnancy is no accident. They all recognize that this child in the mother’s womb is a precious gift that has a heritage and will one day leave a legacy.
Every single Democrat in the Georgia Legislature from Southwest Georgia, with the possible exception of Representative Patty Bentley, voted in direct opposition to their constituency. How is it that elected Democrats can throw these foundational beliefs to the side of the road to follow a party line?
They know that their constituents are pro-life. They hear the messages from the pulpit and in Bible Study week after week. They know what God says. They also know how they voted.
Instead of following the prophetic voice of righteousness, they followed the party line of wretchedness. My African-American friends, this is not merely a political issue.
No matter what race you are, if Patty Bentley (404-656-0287), Winfred Dukes (404-656-0126), or Camia Hopson (404-656-0287), represents you in the Georgia House of Representatives, call them and tell them to stand up and vote for life.
You have an influence. You can stand for justice and righteousness by making a phone call.
Isaiah 5:20 says, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”
Democrat Stacey Abrams called HB 481, “this abominable bill.” HB 481 is not an abominable bill.
The cruel killing of unborn babies is the abomination – and Democrats in Southwest Georgia voted to keep it going.
Your vote is being taken for granted. For the sake of your unborn children, do not let them keep using you.
by Christmas is not just another holiday. It is not just a season for retailers to see the parenthesis disappear from the net profit/loss bottom line.
The truth of Christmas is a basic foundation of deep philosophical and theological questions about the meaning of life and our existence in this world.
In just a few decades, we have witnessed a major shift in attitudes about this traditional holiday. To show how seismic the shift has been, let me ask you a question. Why was it newsworthy that in 2017, President Trump wished everyone a “Merry Christmas?”
There is a world view on public display in a manger scene or in the greeting of “Merry Christmas.” That is why organizations like the ACLU regularly demand that small towns remove manger scenes from public property and “Seasons Greetings” or “Happy Holidays” have replaced “Merry Christmas” as a traditional greeting in many places.
A Christmas world view is based on the truth of Scripture. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1 NASB)
That one sentence established the truth that God is the creator of all that we see. Some may mock the idea of God creating everything out of nothing.
The alternative view is that everything was already in existence and just rearranged itself, by itself, in the balanced order of nature and universe that we know today. It seems that the latter view requires a greater leap of faith than to believe in God as the Creator.
Genesis further describes God’s creation of man in the image of God. He created Adam and Eve as a special creation and gave them dominion over the earth.
The world was perfect in every way and man was perfect in every way. A perfect, holy God had created a perfect environment with perfect creatures.
His desire was a personal relationship with His creation and He had one. He walked with Adam in the garden in the cool of the day.
God gave one rule to man. Imagine, living in a perfect environment with just one rule.
Adam and Eve willfully committed the first sin and broke the one rule that God gave. As a result, sin entered the world and with it the consequences of sin.
The horrible consequences included the destructive emotions of fear, embarrassment, guilt, anger, jealousy, envy, and hatred. Those emotions led to actions of cover-up, blaming others, murder, and other destructive behaviors.
Nature itself was infected by sin. Man now had to confront weeds, thorns, and pestilence that fought to kill what had been growing freely and abundantly in the perfect Garden.
Man’s sin was an incurable genetic disorder passed down to every generation. “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12 NASB)
Man sought for meaning through accumulating knowledge, establishing empires and building wealth. None of those ended the curse of death and none of those brought peace and meaning to life.
But God already had a plan to solve the unsolvable problem of sin. Because of His great love for man, He came to earth as one of us to reconcile man to himself.
2,000 years ago on a hillside near the little town of Bethlehem, angels appeared to shepherds in the field and announced good tidings of great joy. “Today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11 NASB)
Jesus lived the perfect life. He promised life to those who would believe in Him. He made an exclusive claim that He, and He alone, is the way, the truth, and the life.
He took the penalty of sin on behalf of fallen man. He died on a cross and was raised again from the dead. “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” (II Corinthians 5:19)
He defeated death and the grave by being raised from the dead. Since the time of His life on this earth, His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension to heaven, millions, if not billions, have believed in Him. He changed the world and is still changing lives today.
One day He will return. He will, once and for all, put a permanent end to the consequences of sin. “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain.” (Revelation 21:4 NASB)
God’s revelation of Jesus Christ is the greatest message ever given. It is the message of God’s great love and His amazing grace that He has shown to man.
Christmas is not just another holiday. The images of Christmas such as the manger scene and the greetings of “Merry Christmas” carry with them a world view, the only world view, that gives hope for eternal life.
It is no accident that you are reading this blog post. My prayer for you this Christmas is that, if you have not already, you will receive Christ and forever more have a Christmas world view.
Merry Christmas.
by I have the honor of serving as the pastor of First Baptist Church of Rochelle, Georgia during the interim time between permanent pastors. I received notice last Tuesday that the regular Wednesday midweek services were cancelled so that members could attend Fields of Grace 2018.
Fields of Grace is a worship service, led by students in Wilcox County schools. In addition to Fields of Grace in the fall, they also have a service called Sermon on the Mound in the spring.
The student organization in the high school is Patriots for Christ. The elementary schools also have a program for students named, Little Patriots for Christ.
Local area churches support the school clubs as well as some of the teachers, coaches, and administrators outside of their duties for the school system. While there is support from these adults, the program is clearly student led.
The program last night featured the Big Brother and Big Sister mentorship program. A student from Patriots for Christ paired with a student from Little Patriots for Christ for several weeks before the service to teach and learn Scripture and Bible Stories.
Throughout the service, one after another, two students, one from high school and one from the elementary or middle school would come to the stage and have a conversation. Both introduced themselves and their grade in school.
Some selected favorite Bible stories. Some selected favorite Bible verses. The two students summarized the story or verse and then told how it helped them in their lives.
Some students sang a favorite song or shared a personal testimony of how Christ affected their lives. The students were not assigned verses. They made their own selection and the selections were independent of each other.
As I listened to them sharing testimony and Scripture, I began to see a pattern or theme of these verses. They spoke of a personal walk with God and a sense of confidence and courage. One read from the Psalm 23, “He leads me beside the still waters.” One read Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” One read from Luke 18:27 “what is impossible with man is possible with God.”
One of the most moving parts of the service was not part of the program. A young boy asked for the microphone. He could not have been more than 10 years old. He said that one in his family had cancer and asked for prayer. Later, the entire field gathered at the front and humbly kneeled, praying for healing and freedom from worry and anxieity.
I titled this article, “The Solution.” In a small Southwest Georgia county, a new generation of leaders is coming on the scene. Teenage high schoolers are teaching the truths of God’s Word to single-digit-age elementary school students.
These young people are not demanding, “safe spaces.” They are growing as leaders to stand on the solid rock of eternal truth and they are passing the truth to the next generation.
These young leaders already face a hostile world but they face it with courage, confidence, and an unwavering committment. Fields of Grace 2018 is a reminder that, while the world may be going mad, God is still at work building leaders for the future of our nation.
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“There were body parts flying everywhere.” 93 year old Julian Parker of Cordele still remembers D-Day, June 6, 1944, wading on that beach in France. He said that the Germans had two big guns that were supposed to have been knocked out before the Americans landed.
The young soldiers wading on the beach were like sitting ducks. Julian said that some thought they were being smart by huddling close together. From his point of view, that just made a bigger target. He put a little bit of distance between himself and other groups as he made his way up the beach.
After the landing he moved through France and Germany. He saw the horrors of Nazi Germany and the death camps. At one place he said that bodies were stacked up like cord wood where the Nazis had executed thousands.
Julian does not talk a lot about his experiences. A medal display in his room shows, among others, two Purple Hearts and one Bronze Star. He pointed to his head to show where he was hit one time. He said that sometimes he still feels bits of shrapnel in his body.
He did not remember what he did to get the Bronze Star. He said that they wanted to promote him on the battlefield, but he turned it down. As he put it, he told the Army that he did not want to be there to start with and just wanted to get the job done and go home.
As a young teenager, Julian lived near the Georgia coast. He was still in school when he turned 18 and was drafted. After basic training in Mississippi, he went to London, and from London took the cruise across the English Channel with 500,000 other troops to land on a beach in France.
The war had an immense impact on Julian. He said that when he returned home, he went to his house and got his old hunting rifle that he owned since he was a boy. “I took it to the woods, dug a hole and buried it. I had seen enough killing and didn’t want anything more to do with it!”
On the day those men stormed the beaches, parachuted from planes, and flew gliders behind enemy lines, President Roosevelt addressed the nation and prayed for victory. The prayer is about 6 minutes and it is worth your time to hear it.
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